Motorcyclist Faces Serious Charges After Shooting At Semi-Truck

by Jana Ritter - Published: 9/19/2016

It’s a situation reminiscent of the 10 Freeway shootings that occurred in Arizona last year, only this time the shooter was on a motorcycle and was immediately arrested following the incident. The 34-year-old Indiana man also admitted to his wrongdoing and is currently facing a slew of charges.

                                                               

At about 7:45 am on Friday morning, Lincoln Township Police officers were called to the 24 Mile Marker of eastbound I-94 in Michigan. Truck driver, Allen Shotko of Cedar Springs, was waiting for them and recounted his story that he had simply been doing his job, driving his 2015 Freightliner semi-truck and trailer through the eastbound construction zone, when he encountered a motorcyclist. With a gun. Shotko said the motorcyclist became very angry, although he wasn’t sure why, and had pulled a pistol from his coat and shot at the semi-truck while both vehicles were continuing through the eastbound construction zone.

Sure enough, police found a bullet hole in the truck's radiator. Fortunately the truck driver himself was not injured, but certainly shaken up by the incident. His story further checked out with another driver reporting a similar, earlier incident where a motorcyclist had displayed a gun. However no shots were reportedly fired in the first report and the caller was not identified. Shotko was able to give police a detailed description of the 2014 Harley-Davidson motorcycle that had continued traveling eastbound on I-94 after the shooting. A short time later, officers from the Coloma Township Police Department and the Berrien County Sheriff's Office pulled the motorcycle over at the 38.2 mile marker after it had been spotted by a Michigan State Police motor carrier unit.

The motorcyclist, 34-year-old Trenton Norris from Porter, Indiana, pulled over his bike without incident and officers found a loaded .40 caliber pistol in his possession. According to police, Norris also admitted to firing at the truck driver and explained that it was because the trucker had cut him off in the construction zone. He also told police he didn't intend to hurt the driver but just intended to warn him. Norris was arrested at the scene and taken into custody at the Berrien County Jail. On Monday, the Berrien County Prosecutors Office formally charged him with the following felonies: assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, discharge of a firearm from a motor vehicle, and carrying a concealed weapon.

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